Jazz Articles about Odean Pope

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Odean Pope: To The Roach & Serenity

by Elliott Simon
June 7, 2008

Odean Pope Quartet To The Roach CIMP 2006 Odean Pope Serenity CIMP 2007

The many-sided figure defined by the intersecting lines among saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman is the space that tenor saxophonist Odean Pope inhabits and expands upon. A nexus among players of his generation, Pope is on the cusp of bop ...

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Odean Pope: Preaching With the Choir

by Rex Butters
September 4, 2007

After more than forty years of being a highly regarded musician's musician, saxophonist Odean Pope threatens to break out into mass consciousness with the release of his sizzling tour de force session with his Saxophone Choir, appropriately titled Locked and Loaded: Live at The Blue Note (Half Note, 2006). While he also works in trio and quartet settings, his signature Saxophone Choir fulfills his early desire to translate the power and majesty of a gospel choir to his beloved reeds. ...

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Odean Pope Quartet: To The Roach

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 2, 2007

Odean Pope fa parte di quella schiera di musicisti che hanno attraversato per lungo tempo le vicende della musica afroamericana, contribuendo magari al successo di blasonate formazioni, ma lontani dalle luci della ribalta. Come nel caso del quartetto che Max Roach allestì e presentò, talvolta con l’aggiunta di un quartetto d’archi, nei festival di mezzo mondo nel corso degli anni Settanta e Ottanta. E proprio al grande batterista di New York è dedicato, fin dal titolo, l’ultima fatica discografica di ...

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Odean Pope Saxophone Choir: Locked and Loaded

by Ty Cumbie
June 15, 2006

On Locked and Loaded, Odean Pope and his saxophone choir offer up lush, drum-tight voicings as gorgeous and rich as any golden age big band section, then shift gear from full-throated crooning to full-throttle blowing with no audible effort. The first two tracks, both Pope originals, set the agenda: the standard-ish ballad “Epitome," which is nearly devoid of improvisation, is followed by the wildly swinging “Prince Lasha," which is just about all improvisation, and free at that. Pope plays both ...

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Odean Pope Quartet: Two Dreams

by Derek Taylor
August 17, 2004

With uncertain times comes the natural urge to seek sources of stability. An Odean Pope album is like a figurative life preserver in this regard. A listener can pretty much bank on certain assurances if Pope's horn is piloting the ship. Mellifluous free bop charts, ample solo space for the participants, and a guiding appreciation for Philly-born soul are norms. But such consistency of intent and application can cut both ways. Quality is assured, but deviations from the formula are ...

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Odean Pope Brings Philly to DC

by Matt Merewitz
November 30, 2003

A markedly different and original musician, Odean Pope offers a saxophonic approach that sounds nothing like saxophone. In fact if anything it sounds more like wood flute or mellophone despite a typical tenor setup (with metal mouthpiece).

Odean Pope was born in the town in the town of Ninety Six, South Carolina, but grew up in the city of brotherly love. While paying his dues, he played behind such R&B acts as James Brown and Marvin Gaye. He ...

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Carl Grubbs 4tet: Stepping Around the Giant

by Derek Taylor
February 25, 2003

Carl Grubbs is living, breathing proof of the adage “live isn’t fair.” Like so many of his peers, he’s largely fallen through the cracks over the years- a casualty of the public ambivalence that usually signals the lot of creative improvising musicians. But it wasn’t always so; back in the early Seventies with his brother Earl he made a valiant push for the big time through a contract on the Muse label. Three records later the debilitating weight of commerical ...